From focus and resilience to creativity and compassion, the outdoors offers what no app ever could.
It has never been clearer that we’re living in a 24/7 digital era, one dominated by glowing screens and algorithmic feeds, consumed almost constantly as each flicker of new content sparks another hit of dopamine.
But what happens when the “we” isn’t just the grown-ups who know “know better” , but instead, the children who are growing up in a time where play has been replaced with push notifications?
When that happens, like it is now, it’s time to remind ourselves that our children deserve more than screens. More importantly, they require it, and it’s our responsibility to give it to them.
Why Kids and Why Now
“The first five years of a child’s life are often referred to as the formative years,” explains Margie Newlands, Senior Outdoor Education Consultant at Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. “We know that during this period, a child’s brain undergoes a tremendous amount of growth, growth that lays the foundation for everything that follows.”
What follows includes academic success, emotional resilience, and social competence. Yet, as with adults, children’s living and learning environments are changing, and those changes are critically shaping how they grow and who they can become.
“An increase in screen time in the early years increases sedentary behaviour, and that’s affected children’s development in so many ways. And unfortunately, not for the better,” explains Newlands. “We are seeing a decline in play and social skills, as well as children’s ability to problem solve physically and cognitively.”
Newlands also points out that there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of children needing more support with their self-regulation, attention, and focus skills.
“Most alarmingly, and a more hidden factor to all of this, is that more and more children are missing the physical foundation skills of reading and writing, and healthy development as a whole,” she says. “Children aren’t developing the core muscles that are required to sit for extended periods, hold a pencil, and apply the correct amount of pressure. Sometimes, simply regulating their bodies to pay attention can be difficult.”
Newlands isn’t the only one who’s ringing the alarm.
As Angela Hanscom states, “It’s hard to pay attention when you’re not allowed to move for extended periods of time. Movement turns the brain on to pay attention”.
That’s where the outdoors comes in.
Trading the Screen for Green
“Providing children with time and space outdoors and allowing them to engage in unstructured, child-led play leads the way to essential sensory exploration, heavy work, and problem-solving opportunities,” says Newlands. “It’s what supports children with self-regulation, attention, focus, confidence, and resilience while simultaneously cultivating a deep connection to themselves, others, and nature.”
Unstructured outdoor play also counters the overstimulation of the digital world. Unlike the urgency that comes from algorithms or the distraction that television brings, nature offers a sense of richness, a chance to slow down, and an opportunity to connect.
If we think back to when we were young, most of us had the freedom to explore the outdoors or even dive into a new hobby that challenged us to sustain our focus for extended periods of time. Although we may not have realized it at the time, those moments helped us learn how to regulate our nervous systems through feelings like curiosity rather than algorithmic reward loops. Not all children today have the same luxury.
Nature as a childhood right, not a luxury
Screens are becoming the norm at the earlier stages of life. Passive screen staring can happen during dinners out, during travel, and even during moments like potty training.
And while technology is sold to parents and educators as a convenience, a way to connect, or a necessary head start in the digital race, this ‘head start’ may just come at the cost of essential real-world interactions, ones that every child deserves as they grow into caring, compassionate, and engaged individuals.
Fortunately, there are ways to support a child’s learning and development, and according to Newlands, “you don’t have to forgo technology all together”, but rather, look for ways that embrace what a child is truly craving: the chance to play, and to do so in an environment that supports how they learn and grow, outdoors.
“Children who consistently partake in outdoor unstructured child-led play are building skills that lay the foundation for lifelong learning and whole child development,” says Newlands. “By reminding them (and ourselves) that the real world involves feeling it, testing it, learning from it, and connecting with it, we’re setting children up for a level of success that technology could never provide.”
No matter how advanced technology may get, there’s no teacher like nature. It’s time we let children learn from the world that’s been here all along.
Learn more about how Bienenstock is supporting meaningful connection to nature with eco-friendly playgrounds, outdoor education workshops, and full nature.
